By Marie-Julie Richer-Roy

On September 21, 2013, the Southern California Institute of Food Technologists section organized a day of service event. This event was coordinated by Jessica Ruiz-Hallstrom from Chapman University. The event was held at the Orange County food bank in Garden Grove California. Several students from the region went to help out for the day. There were several students from Chapman University, California State University Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona in attendance. Much work was waiting for us that day in order to help package boxes of food that go to help low-income elderly people.  Cardboard boxes were packed with items such as cereal, tomato sauce, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta, aseptic packs of milk, fruit juice, peanut butter, and more. In the boxes were also little recipe cards demonstrating how the food can be used to make delicious and nutritious meals. The Orange County Food Bank distributes nearly 20 million pounds of food annually and volunteers receive and package 26,000 boxes of food each month. Giving back to the community by volunteering at a food bank is rewarding, but also a fun activity to do with a group. I hope that the IFT Day of Service continues for many years to come and that we make our mark in helping end hunger in America.

Photo Credit: Marie-Julie Richer-Roy

Cover photo from left to right: Marie-Julie Richer-Roy, Shawnie Lee, Ke Ju Liu and John Molino all from Cal State LA